The Birthday Proposal
by SevIlyRemuDoraAlways
Summary: On Penelope's birthday, she get's more than just a simple present-she  gets a promise of a better, even perfect future


*****IF YOU ARE MY PERSONAL FRIEND, PLEASE READ*****

**This story is a**** special**** birthday gift to my friend, ****nicknamed Ricey****, otherwise known as TheWindUnderYourWings.**

**To: Amber,****Bleah,****XH,****CK,****Karen, or whoever else is reading this that knows me and Ricey personally,****I must ask you to please keep this story a secret and DON'T TELL RICEY A THING ABOUT IT.I want it to be a ****present**** for her on Friday,****even though this is really nothing great,****but I put a****lot of effort**** and time**** into writing this for her birthday so KEEP IT A SECRET okay?****It's all I ask of you.****And I know some of you*cough* Bleah *cough* would have definitely already read this before Friday and so please be more careful.****Yeah I know I'm a nag****, but PLEASE, I BEG YOU. If you let it slip, I'll seriously hate you for the rest of my life.******

**To ****Ricey****:****Happy Birthday in advance!****You've been a good friend After All This Time and remember to ****Always ****stay awesome and I love you!****(As a friend) I'll give you a proper birthday wish on Sunday okay?*less than three***** Oh and I did not write this story to tease you and I'm sorry if you get angry. I thought they were a perfect couple for this story.******

**To the rest:****My story may not be the fabulous-est one around but I love my friends okay?****That's why this is for Ricey.**** This is my first time attempting a fluffy romantic fic and I know it kinda sucks but I tried my best!******

**Disclaimer: I do not own the delightful characters Percy and Penelope.**

"Happy Birthday, Penelope!"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday, Healer Clearwater!"

"Happy Birthday, Miss Clearwater!"

The tide of birthday greetings and well-wishes met Healer Penelope Clearwater as she stepped into the cool office of St Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies And Injuries in her Healer's uniform of lime green robes with the logo of the hospital on it.

Blushing furiously and ducking her head modestly, she murmured a few Thank Yous and hurried off to her refuge, otherwise known as her office.

Even the short trip to her office in the East Wing of the Hospital was scattered with even more greetings and smiles from patients and other Healers alike. She was known as one of the youngest ever to complete her training—at the age of twenty. It normally took other witches and wizards four years but she took only three.

Well, she was not the Head Girl and Top O.W.L and N.E.W.T Student of her house for nothing.

Sighing in relief when she reached her office door, she placed a slender hand on the handle and turned it, eager to escape the suffocating wave of Birthday wishes. She disliked attention and would always blush a vivid red whenever too many people were looking at her.

She breathed in the comforting and familiar smell of her 'hideout', as she like to call it. The soft and sweet scent of honey and caramel with slight, delicate undertones of cedar and fresh pine leaves. An unusual combination, yes, but soothing at the same time.

Her eyes fell upon a unique object on her desk.

A single rose, red as a gleaming ruby, emerald stalk smooth as velvet yet marred by the vicious thorn easily cloaked by the beautiful, alluring brilliance of the crimson silken petals. Beneath the rose was a fragment of fresh parchment that bore three words in a curling, elegant script that was so familiar:

_Wait for me._

A light smile played on her lips and she picked up the dainty rose, her fingers delicately avoiding the harsh thorns and lifted it up to take in its delightful scent, a divine fragrance that could not be put down in mere, clumsy words.

_Wait for me…_

The words filled her with a rush of adrenaline, powering her up for the day. Head high, shoulders back, she shook back her honey-blonde hair and strode out of her office to meet the world bravely…

Penelope sank onto the couch lethargically, tense shoulders relaxing and closed her tired eyes. She let the comforting warmth of the blazing, enchanted fire wash over her as she settled into the plush cushion.

After a whole day of running around casting numerous spells, checking on patients and administrating vials and vials of potions, she was dead beat.

All of a sudden, she could sense a slight, though insignificant, change in her surroundings, as though a door had just closed softly or the flickering tongues of flame had conveniently crackled a little too much.

She quickly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, disorientated, trying to adapt to the sudden brightness when suddenly, a pair of warm hands slid over her eyes.

"Guess who?" The familiar voice asked teasingly.

A playful grin crept up her face and she put on her best mock-thoughtful expression she could muster.

"Lockhart?"She suggested in her most innocent tone of voice.

The pair of hands slipped off and she was spun around gently, coming face-to-face with her boyfriend of seven years, Percy Weasley.

His windswept fiery red hair fell lightly into his hazel-brown eyes and his sharp nose was crinkled up in an evident display of displeasure.

Pouting slightly, he half-whined, "Don't tell me you were thinking about him?"

"Hmm..."She pretended to think teasingly.

Percy laughed lightly and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer until their foreheads were touching. She once again found herself lost inside the deep well of his brown eyes, those eyes, that, with just one single look, could melt away all her fears and anxieties and fill her with a rushing, exciting feeling that, to put it down in simple words, meant 'Love'.

"Happy Birthday, Penny," he whispered huskily.

That was the way she liked it.

Not 'Penelope' or 'Miss Clearwater'; Just that simple, intimate nickname that Percy whispered like a prayer on his lips, that sent a shiver up her spine whenever he breathed it in her ear seductively.

A smile curving up her lips, she whispered, "Thank You."

The first one that she really meant.

He bent down and gently pressed his lips against hers.

In that moment, she nearly melted right there in his arms with bliss. All that was going through her mind was how soft his lips were, how good he tasted, like cinnamon and strawberries, yet another unusual combination but also one that she loved.

A fiery monster of passion reared up inside her and a jolt of exhilaration coursed through her veins, awakening her, tempting her, causing her to let out a soft moan.

Chuckling, Percy pulled away slowly. The kiss was a mere few seconds but felt like several lifetimes to Penelope, lifetimes of eternal bliss, but, at the same time, still too short for her. She wanted to stay like that forever, never breaking apart from those inviting lips and soulful eyes.

"We should stop before the sun rises."Percy joked, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were shining.

Penelope's soft, curly blonde hair had escaped the low ponytail that she had conveniently pulled it into at the beginning of the day and now cascaded lightly down her back.

Percy sat down on the sofa and pulled her gently to his side, her head on his chest as he stroked her hair and they talked quietly about their day. Penelope rarely felt so relaxed, what with the stresses that came with being a Healer.

When with Percy, she felt that she could just be herself, to not care about what others said or saw about her.

_As long as he loves me,__everything is going to be alright..._

Suddenly, Percy stood up, holding both of Penelope's hands in his.

"Penny, I want to ask you something."

Head tilted curiously to one side, she looked at him to go on.

Taking a deep breath, as though steeling himself for something dangerous, he plunged his hand into the pocket of his neat Ministry Uniform and drew out a crimson velvet box.

Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' and her eyes widened.

Percy got down on one knee and lifted up the cover of the box.

A glistening ring lay right in the centre of the box. Though it was simple, not as showy as the heavily-crested rings used in snobbish pure-blooded families, it still had its own amazing allure.

The way the single ruby in the centre managed to gleam and sparkle in the dim room as though it had a mystical life on its own seemed to cause the lights to dance and turn in an ethereal way. The smooth silver band looked as though it would instantly fit around her ring finger, twining around it, as though it was made just for her.

Thoughts were flashing through Penelope's mind. Doubts, worries, anxieties...

_Am I too young? Will he truly love me?__  
><em>

If there was one thing she was afraid of, it was heartbreak.

"Penelope Clearwater. I, Percy Weasley, ask for you to marry me .I swear on my wizard's magic that, if you agree to my humble proposal, from this day on, I will love and care for you no matter what the Fates deem fit to throw at us. I vow that I will try my best to protect you, even at the cost of my own life until the day we part in death, maybe even beyond that. I am willing to take the Wizard's Oath to reassure you of my sincerity.

So, once again, I ask you, Penelope Clearwater, will you accept my proposal to you and let me play a part in your future, to let me love you, protect you and, to an extent, be a part of you? Will you grant me this high honour?"

Maybe it was the way he looked up at her so adoringly, the sincerity in his dark eyes and his honest, unflinching gaze that changed something deep inside her. All her previous worries ebbed away and she could see her future in those soulful eyes that held the true promises of love and sincerity.

Barely noticing it herself, a single tear slid down her pale cheek and she blinked furiously, trying to keep her emotions in control.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she willingly whispered the word that sealed her future.

"Yes."

A look of pure joy lit up Percy's handsome face and his eyes shone with ecstasy. He slipped the ring onto her finger and enveloped her in a warm hug that made her feel safe and assured her that she would not regret.

Was it in relief that someone loved her or in happiness that she was going to marry the love of her life, Penelope didn't know, but she began to cry softly.

He loved her.

She loved him.

And that was what mattered to both of them.

Percy gently wiped her tears away and kissed her again, both of them tasting the salty tears on their lips, but they didn't care.

Their joy and bliss mixed with their initial hesitation and become one of true love and eternal perfection.

"I love you...I always will..."

And he did.

**Thanks for reading and I apologize for any OOC-ness...**

**I'm sorry if I overdid the descriptions but I wanted this story to be as 'perfect' as I could get it.**

**Ricey, I hope you liked this present.****I told you you might probably not like it but at least I tried.**** This may not be the most expensive or material gift, but I put lotsa thought and L-O-V-E into it!**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN ADVANCE!**** Don't hate me for writing about this pairing please?* pouts***

**Love ya forever!**

**The rest of you, I will not ask you to review but you may if you wish.******

**Bye!**


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